Juneteenth; Rest, Restore & Reclaim
“There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole” African American Spiritual
I’m always grateful for anytime I can spend on Martha’s Vineyard and this time was no exception. It is My Happy Place. It was my time to rest, restore & reclaim. A time for healing the spirit. As a Black Woman and proud member of the 92% spending Juneteenth on the Vineyard was not only needed, but necessary for my soul. I rested in my peace, while reclaiming my JOY through my art. My photography has always been good to me. It’s helped me to see the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Many times, it was the things that I took for granted. This time on the island was different, more personal, as I found myself journaling at night to recall every beautiful moment, big or small that I was blessed to experience. The moments written on paper and carved forever in my heart.
Juneteenth on the island was food for my Soul. It was early morning yoga on the beach. It was meeting the Sun as she begins her ascension above the horizon. It was a Sunday Sermon served with an uplifting word with a side of a call to action. It was coming to the water as a community to pray and give thanks to the ancestors for restoring our strength. It was the delight in my eyes as I watched an elder dance in the waters of The Inkwell. It was what my soul needed in that space and time.
It was meeting a stranger and recognizing the humanity in one another through dialogue. It was getting lost walking through neighborhood and admiring the beauty found around you. It was evenings around a dinner table with good food and savoring the experience. It was conversations on the front porch while sipping champagne that lasted well into late night. It was being in community with folk who saw me for me. It was soothing balm to my broken spirit. A spirit that was low on energy and short on faith. It was evening walks to the water to pray and release the weight of what was weighing me down.
This was my time to Rest, Restore & Reclaim the JOY of just being…………